Fiction Friday: Madame Celestin Concludes
Today I’m featuring part two of a story by Kate Chopin. You’ll find the first part in last week’s Fiction Friday. As I was living in Louisiana and researching my two novels Iron Lace and Rising Tides, I read almost everything by Kate Chopin, as well as Lafcadio Hearn’s Chita, and many nonfiction works by…
Read MoreThe Pleasures of Grandchildren
I am spending this week with my beloved grandson, son and daughter-in-law, who came to visit this weekend. Liam, at two, is a reminder of all life’s miracles, and we have had so much fun together. Love sitting with his wonderful parents discussing their lives and all the things we can’t cover in telephone calls.…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: Paddling Florida
You’ll want to read about this inspiring young man, Justin Riney, who paddle-boarded 2500 miles around Florida to help raise funds for water conservation. Along the way Justin organized cleanups of waterways and took some incredible photos — there’s a link in the article. Justin “stepped off the ledge,” took a chance and decided to…
Read MoreFiction Friday: Madame Celestin’s Divorce
Welcome to Fiction Friday. Mardi Gras may be over, but we aren’t yet finished with Louisiana. I thought you might enjoy this short story, written by author Kate Chopin in 1894 in a work entitled Bayou Folk. I’ll post it in two parts with the conclusion next Friday. Kate Chopin, born Kate O’Flaherty, grew up in St.…
Read MoreHappy Mardi Gras Day
Happy, happy Mardi Gras whether you’re among those who celebrate, wish you celebrated, or despise parades, beads and king cake any time of year. If you’re watching a parade right now, just know I wish I were right there beside you shouting “Throw me something, Mister!” The Unmasking, which is my one real carnival book, goes…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: How To Be Miserable
I’ve written many blogs about happiness because each one of us deserves to be happy, and there are so many things we can do to make that happen. Recently, though, I found an article in my local paper about a renowned family therapist who gives a different perspective: she asks how can we be miserable?…
Read MoreFiction Friday: Mardi Gras Here We Come
I’ve spent the last two weeks revising one of my very first novels,The Unmasking. The novel came out from Harlequin Superromance in, gulp, 19. . . A long time ago. As I read The Unmasking again, I loved the story, but my writing has improved, well, enormously. What took me twelve words to say now…
Read MoreNext Week, Same Time, Same Place
I’m so busy doing the edits and revisions of one of my first novels, The Unmasking, that I wasn’t able to blog yesterday, but please stay tuned for another preview of the book this week on Fiction Friday, in honor of Mardi Gras. I hope to have The Unmasking online at all your favorite bookstores…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: Courage!
Two inspirational men this Sunday morning. The first is Michael Sam, the star college football player about to be drafted into professional football. Michael is not only perhaps the best defensive players in college football and one of the toughest men you’ll ever see, but he’s had the courage to tell the world he is…
Read MoreFiction Friday: Dead Ball
I’m going to tell you a secret. One of the very best parts of being a writer is being with other writers. More often than not we’re together online, not in person, but there are always conferences, booksignings and brainstorming sessions where we meet and share stories into the wee hours of morning. In the…
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